Irish pilots fear reprimand for speaking up about mental health issues, group says

Irish pilots are afraid to come forward about having made mistakes and experiencing issues with their mental health and substance abuse for fear of being punished, a representative group has said.

Officials from the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association told the Oireachtas transport committee on Tuesday that pilots were suffering from stress and mental health problems, but that some of their employers view these as a “burden” which “gets in the way” of commercial interests.

The association called for independent peer support programmes to be made mandatory through an amendment to the upcoming Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020.

Capt Alan Brereton said that if pilots are not supported in dealing with these issues, it could have tragic consequences. He noted the case of a Germanwings flight in March 2015, which was deliberately crashed by a pilot who was suffering from mental health problems.

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“In Ireland we have an average of one pilot suicide every 18 months . . . in one seven-year period, six pilots took their own life,” he said, adding that a peer support programme could alleviate these issues.

He said pilots should be able get help and treatment without concern over sanction from their employer. However, he said the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) is allowing some airlines to install management representatives as “peers” in the existing support programmes, which means some pilots are wary about interacting with them.

“We have seen evidence that some airline management teams perceive pilots with these every day mental health issues as an inconvenience,” Capt Brereton added.

He said this was resulting in pilots not coming forward, and these issues are often dealt with through disciplinary processes, rather than a health-based approach.

In relation to the 2017 Rescue 116 tragedy, Capt Brereton said the report into the accident gave an insight into the current culture of the Irish aviation sector. He said TDs and Senators should have had access to it while drafting the Bill.

He and his association colleague Capt Evan Cullen said many pilots pointed out mistakes in maps which were routinely used by pilots a few years ago. The quality of the maps used today was a lot better, said Capt Cullen, who believed this was due to the deaths of pilots rather than previous concerns being listened to.

Capt Cullen said the new legislation would reduce the frequency of Section 32 examinations, which analyse the safety and technical performance of the IAA. Currently, these are supposed to take place every three years, but the new legislation proposed an examination every five years.

“How the department could read the draft final report on Rescue 116 and still allow that to be in the Bill is beyond any understanding,” said Capt Cullen.

He also called on the new IAA, which will be created through this legislation, to be granted the power to levy graduated penalties on airlines who are non-compliant with regulations, similar to the Central Bank. Capt Cullen said he believed the amendments were needed in primary legislation.

In other countries, he said, best practice and guidance is adhered to, but nothing will change in Ireland unless it is legally enforceable.

“What happens in other jurisdictions is when a regulator says you will do something, it is normally done. What happens here is: ‘we will see you down in the courts’.”

Previously, Minister of State for transport Hildegarde Naughton said she would bring forward Government amendments to the legislation which should address the association’s concerns, but Capt Cullen said the group had not been told what these involved.

The IAA has been contacted for comment on the matters raised.